Maher, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment based at Ray Barracks in Friedberg, Germany, died Monday in Baghdad when guerrillas on an overpass attacked his convoy, dropping an explosive device into the soldier’s Humvee. Three other soldiers were injured.

“We would like to hear from people who were with him that day,” said Dan Massimini, Maher’s brother-in-law, in a phone interview. “Just a letter. We don’t want to intrude. We’d just like to write them. We’d love to do that. To know more about what happened ... and to just let them know we support them.”